The present invention relates generally to an apparatus and method for the assembly of electrical components and circuitry in the manufacture of electronic products.
In the manufacture of electronic equipment and appliances it is common to connect component devices such as photodiodes and lasers, for example, to circuit boards commonly termed xe2x80x9cplug inxe2x80x9d boards. An example of such a plug in board is a transimpedance amplifier (TIA) used in CATV-RF Broadband applications. Plug in boards permit ease of assembly or replacement and a means by which component devices in an electronic product are integrated into the circuitry of the product.
Typically, the component device to be connected to the plug in board is mounted on a bracket that is in turn mounted or anchored remotely from the plug in board on a surface such as the motherboard of the product, for example. An example of such a bracket is the xe2x80x9cUniversalxe2x80x9d mounting bracket manufactured by the AMP Corporation. The bracket is fabricated such that when a component device is mounted in it, the component device can be easily positioned relative to, and connected to the plug in board.
In certain applications, however, the use of a xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d type mounting bracket has some drawbacks in its application, particularly with respect to the mounting location of the mounting bracket. For example, in CATV-RF Broadband applications, products include photodiodes and lasers. These component devices are mounted on a bracket such as the xe2x80x9cuniversalxe2x80x9d bracket described above which is in turn mounted on the mother board of the product, and electrical leads from the photodiode or laser are connected to a remotely located plug in board, thereby integrating the component devices into the circuitry of the subject product. During product transportation, or normal use, however, the plug in board is capable of movement independent of the mounting bracket to which the component device is attached. This relative or differential movement between the surface to which the mounting bracket is anchored and thus the bracket itself, and the plug in board to which the mounted component device is connected, leads to undesirable relative movement and stress on the connections between the component device and the plug in board to which it is connected. The differential movement has been known to cause degradation in the performance of the photodiode or laser connected to the plug in board and, in some instances, a complete separation of the contact leads of the mounted component device from the plug in board. It is desirable, therefore, to have an electrical component device mounting system that will eliminate such differential movement and be unaffected by movement in a plug in board during product shipment or use, while maintaining all component device performance and layout criteria.
The present invention solves these and other problems by providing a method and apparatus for mounting an electronic component device directly to a plug in board thereby eliminating differential movement between the mounting surface of the bracket holding the component device, and the plug in board to which the component device is connected, during either transportation or normal use. By eliminating the differential/relative movement between the anchoring surface of the mounting bracket and the plug in board, the stresses generated by movement of the connection leads from the component device relative to the plug in board and the potential consequences thereof, are eliminated.